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St. Polycarp of Smyrna
St. Polycarp of Smyrna (c. 69–c. 155). Born around 69 AD, likely in Asia Minor, Polycarp was a bishop, martyr, and one of the Apostolic Fathers, pivotal in early Christianity. Tradition holds he was a disciple of the Apostle John, receiving direct instruction in Ephesus. Appointed bishop of Smyrna (modern Izmir, Turkey), he led with humility, preaching Christ’s divinity and resurrection, countering heresies like Docetism. His epistle, Letter to the Philippians, urged steadfast faith and charity, preserved in early Christian writings. Polycarp mentored figures like Irenaeus and corresponded with Ignatius of Antioch, strengthening church unity. At age 86, during a persecution under Emperor Antoninus Pius, he was arrested for refusing to sacrifice to Roman gods. Bound and burned at the stake in Smyrna’s stadium around 155 AD, he survived the flames, only to be stabbed, his martyrdom recorded in The Martyrdom of Polycarp, one of the earliest such accounts. Unmarried, as a celibate bishop, he left no family but a legacy of courage. Polycarp said, “Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He never did me any injury: how then can I blaspheme my King and my Saviour?”
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St. Polycarp of Smyrna emphasizes the dangers of the love of money as the root of all evils, urging believers to focus on righteousness and the commandments of the Lord. He instructs wives to walk in faith, love, and purity, cherishing their husbands and showing love and chastity to all. Additionally, he advises the teaching of children in the ways of God and encourages widows to be discreet, prayerful, and to avoid all forms of evil, knowing that God sees all things, even the secrets of the heart.
The Love of Money Is the Root of All Evils
"But the love of money is the root of all evils." Knowing, therefore, that "as we brought nothing into the world, so we can carry nothing out," let us arm ourselves with the armour of righteousness; and let us teach, first of all, ourselves to walk in the commandments of the Lord. Next, [teach] your wives [to walk] in the faith given to them, and in love and purity tenderly loving their own husbands in all truth, and loving all [others] equally in all chastity; and to train up their children in the knowledge and fear of God. Teach the widows to be discreet as respects the faith of the Lord, praying continually for all, being far from all slandering, evil-speaking, false-witnessing, love of money, and every kind of evil; knowing that they are the altar s of God, that He clearly perceives all things, and that nothing is hid from Him, neither reasonings, nor reflections, nor any one of the secret things of the heart.
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St. Polycarp of Smyrna (c. 69–c. 155). Born around 69 AD, likely in Asia Minor, Polycarp was a bishop, martyr, and one of the Apostolic Fathers, pivotal in early Christianity. Tradition holds he was a disciple of the Apostle John, receiving direct instruction in Ephesus. Appointed bishop of Smyrna (modern Izmir, Turkey), he led with humility, preaching Christ’s divinity and resurrection, countering heresies like Docetism. His epistle, Letter to the Philippians, urged steadfast faith and charity, preserved in early Christian writings. Polycarp mentored figures like Irenaeus and corresponded with Ignatius of Antioch, strengthening church unity. At age 86, during a persecution under Emperor Antoninus Pius, he was arrested for refusing to sacrifice to Roman gods. Bound and burned at the stake in Smyrna’s stadium around 155 AD, he survived the flames, only to be stabbed, his martyrdom recorded in The Martyrdom of Polycarp, one of the earliest such accounts. Unmarried, as a celibate bishop, he left no family but a legacy of courage. Polycarp said, “Eighty and six years have I served Him, and He never did me any injury: how then can I blaspheme my King and my Saviour?”